1. يا ناعي الدين والدنيا ومن فيها

    خفض عليها فقد أوشكت تفنيها

    O herald of the death of religion, the world, and all within it,

    be gentle with it, for you have almost destroyed it.

  2. نعيت للشرعة الغراء كافلها

    حتى استيح حماها بعد حاميها

    You announced to radiant sacred law the death of its guardian,

    so its sanctuary was violated once its protector was gone.

  3. أصم سمع المعالي الغر عاصفها

    فلا يكاد يعيها السمع واعيها

    Its tempest deafened the ear of radiant glory,

    so even the attentive ear can scarcely take it in.

  4. ما خص نعيك إقليم العراق بلى

    عم الأقاليم قاصيها ودانيها

    Your death-tidings were not confined to the land of Iraq; rather,

    they encompassed every region, far and near.

  5. واستوعب الفلك الساري فلاعجب

    من النجوم إذا انقضت سواريها

    They encompassed the circling firmament; no wonder

    if the stars that roam by night should fall headlong.

  6. هذي الإمامة إن جفت مدامعها

    عن ذوب مهجتها تجري ما فيها

    Here is the Imamate: if its tear ducts run dry,

    from its melting heart it pours out all it holds.

  7. يا من إذا إعتلت الأجسام من سقم

    بعزمة من عياء الداء يشفيها

    O you who, when bodies fell ill with sickness,

    would heal them of stubborn disease with firm resolve:

  8. جرى السقام برجل طالما شرفت

    بها البقاع التي أصبحت واطيها

    sickness coursed through a foot that had so often ennobled

    the lands you came to tread with it.

  9. أنى يسابقها للفخر ذو قدم

    والليث من خوفه أمسى يراعيها

    How could anyone with feet race it to glory,

    when the lion, in its fear, kept watch upon it?

  10. للَه رجل لها رجل الخطوب سعت

    وما رعت في بني الدنيا مساعيها

    What a foot, by God! Calamity's foot advanced against it,

    showing no regard for its labors among humankind.

  11. فيها تحكم داء لا دواء له

    أعي الطبيب الذي وافى يداويها

    Within it a disease held sway, a disease without a cure,

    baffling the physician who came to treat it.

  12. ونفس حر على المعروف قد طبعت

    كالغيث تجري على الراجي أياديها

    And a noble man's soul, formed for kindness—

    its favors flow like rain upon the hopeful.

  13. لو أنها تفتدي بالخلق أجمعها

    أضحت نفوس الورى طراً تفديها

    If it could ransom itself with all creation,

    every human soul would offer itself to redeem it.

  14. شرايع الدين إن غيضت مناهلها

    بعد الزكي فمن بالعلم يرويها

    If the watering places of religion's laws are drained dry,

    after al-Zaki, who will water them with knowledge?

  15. وقبة العلم إن هدت دعامتها

    من ذا يعيد بناها بعد بانيها

    And if the pillar of knowledge's dome is demolished,

    who will restore its structure after its builder is gone?

  16. أودى بقارعة للأرض آسفةً

    حتى الجبال لها ساخت رواسيها

    He perished in a calamity that left the earth grieving,

    until even the mountains' firm foundations sank before it.

  17. حلت ببيضة دين اللَه فانصدعت

    يا للرجال فقد أعي تلافيها

    It struck the very core of God's religion, which split asunder.

    Men, to the rescue! For repairing it has proved impossible.

  18. مشيع خلفه الأحكام نادبة

    للعلم تبكي وعين العلم تبكيها

    He is borne in procession, the sacred laws lamenting behind him,

    weeping for knowledge, while knowledge's eye weeps for them.

  19. يشال منه على الأعناق نعش علا

    بنات نعش له انحطت دراريها

    His bier is hoisted upon shoulders, rising high;

    before it, the Daughters of the Bier's radiant stars sank low.

  20. وافت حماه بنو الآمال وانكفأت

    لافقد من كان بالإحسان كافيها

    The children of hope came to his sanctuary and turned back,

    for the loss of him whose kindness had met their needs.

  21. هو الجواد الذي جلى فلا عجب

    إذا الجبال له جزت نواصيها

    He is the noble steed that led the field; no wonder

    if the mountains sheared their forelocks for him.